Cuomo signs six Grisanti bills into law

by jmaloni

Press release

Fri, Aug 2nd 2013 10:00 pm

Among
new laws are lower crossbow registration fees and stricter pet dealer
regulation

After being highlighted as
Western New York's most productive legislator by NYPIRG in early
July, State Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-I-Buffalo, had six bills (of 18
that passed both houses) signed into law this week. The bills range
from dealing with lowering bow hunting registration fees to pet
dealer licensing.

"These laws will greatly
help the WNY community, as well as New York state," Grisanti
said. "I would like to thank the governor for signing these
bills into law, and all those that helped bring these bills to
shape."

S697A
requires individuals employed in the supply of central services to
hospitals to be certified and undergo continuing education. Central
service technicians prepare, distribute and control the sterile and
non-sterile items and equipment used in all clinical areas of a
hospital. The legislation requires the certification of persons who
wish to practice in the central service, and provides certain
requirements for such certification. In addition, the bill imposes a
continuing education recruitment.

S1584 adds
Department of Environmental Conservation police officers and forest
ranger to the list of police officers subject to certain basic
requirements, including the requirement of good moral character. Many
of the job details of both DEC officers and forest rangers overlap
with the important characteristics of any other police officer in New
York. After researching the similar characteristics, it is only a
natural course of action, Grisanti said, to legally consider these
officers as "police officers." This legislation ensures
these officers should be subject to certain basic requirements to the
same extent that all other police officers are.

S3955A
requires administrative hearings be held to determine whether a pet
dealer license should be suspended or revoked after a certain pattern
of failed inspections has occurred in order to protect dogs and cats
from abusive treatment by pet dealers. This legislation mandates an
administrative hearing after three failed inspections in a row or
three failed inspections within a three-year period. By requiring
hearings, those who have a pattern of being out of compliance with
the laws that apply to the care of animals will have their licenses
suspended or revoked in a timely way, preventing them from further
mistreating animals in their care.

S4894
extends the enacting language for the Michigan Street African
American Heritage Corridor. The corridor is rich in African-American
history and has been nationally recognized for its unique cultural
resources and historically significant buildings. This two-block area
has been center stage in the epic history of Buffalo's black
community.

S4997
decreases fees for a bow-hunting license for persons age 15 years and
under.

S5142
authorizes the Town of Hamburg to alienate certain parklands so that
they may install an underground private sanitary sewer line to
connect to the existing public sanitary sewer infrastructure. The
Town of Hamburg has requested legislation that would allow them to
alienate parkland for the greater purpose of installing a sanitary
sewer for a project being undertaken in the Town.

NYPIRG found Grisanti had the
most pieces of legislation pass both the Senate and the Assembly when
compared to his colleagues from Western New York.

For
more information, call the senator's office at 716-854-8705, or email [email protected].